Next Steps for Engaging Iran

On the radar: NY Times sees diplomatic opportunity, challenge; Gen. Mattis discounts the military option; East coast jobs program; and Sen. Hart on diplomacy.

July 22, 2013 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Alyssa Demus

Next steps - “Until the United States and Iran invest in diplomacy, there is no way to know if a deal is possible. But we cannot think of a faster way to sabotage this fleeting moment than to force Mr. Rowhani into a corner,” writes The New York Times in a new editorial. Instead, President Obama and Mr. Rowhani “need courage, creative ideas and the skill to manage their domestic politics for the two nations to enter into a meaningful dialogue.”

--“The United States should reach out to Mr. Rowhani, and with its other partners — Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany — it should put together a broader nuclear proposal. That should include a process for acknowledging Iran’s right to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under safeguards, limiting uranium enrichment and gradually lifting sanctions under tight conditions.”

--”Sanctions have helped push Iran to the negotiating table, and the ones in effect should be enforced. But adding new ones, as some in Congress want, would reinforce Iran’s view that the Americans’ goal is to crush the mullah-led government, and would make negotiations impossible,” writes the Times. Full editorial here. http://nyti.ms/16UOF4H

Gen. Mattis on Iran - “Iran’s newly-elected president, Hassan Rouhani, could help his country walk back the nuclear weapons program [...] The United States should try to work with the new leader,” said former commander of U.S. Central Command Gen. James Mattis in an interview at the recent Aspen Security Forum. “Ultimately, the only real resolution to Iran’s nuclear program will be a diplomatic one. “The military can buy our diplomats some time, but it cannot solve this problem,” said Mattis. Alison Harding of CNN’s Security Clearance has the story. http://ow.ly/ncezk

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East coast jobs - The Missile Defense Agency is looking at 10 locations on the East Coast for a potential new missile defense site - including Ft. Drum in New York or Loring AFB in Maine. AP has the story, composed mostly of quotes from New York members of Congress and regional lobbying organizations who are not surprisingly supportive of using the missile defense project as a jobs program. http://on.wsj.com/18vdEi8

Diplomacy isn’t always easy - Diplomacy rather than disengagement is necessary in order to address the United States’ differences with Russia over Syria, Iran, Snowden, missile defense and arms reductions. Ultimately, the two states share more common interests than grievances, and “the time will come, and it may be sooner rather than later, when having Russia on our side will become crucial.” Before then, it would be wise for the U.S. to foster closer relations with Moscow, writes Gary Hart in the Huffington Post. http://ow.ly/ncixm

Tweet - @MarkThompson_DC: What would a nuclear bomb do to your neighborhood/nation? @wellerstein offers a too-realistic peak. On Battleland, at. http://t.co/1yvSRpfEyz

Invite - World leaders, including those from the U.S. and Europe, have been invited to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president Hassan Rouhani, according to a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry. “Rouhani has pledged to follow a ‘path of moderation’ and promised greater openness over the country's nuclear program, reports AP. http://ow.ly/ncgTs

Speed reads -

--”Congress, Former Policymakers Urge Obama to Revitalize Diplomacy With Iran” by Ryan Costello in The Huffington Post. http://huff.to/16UKhCA

--”Obama: Don't Cancel the Moscow Trip” by Bob Dreyfuss in The Nation. http://bit.ly/18vbCi2

Events:

--”Iran: How a Third Tier Cyber Power Can Still Threaten The United States,” Barbara Slavin, Jason Healey, and Dmitri Alperovitch. July 29, 9:30-11:00 AM @ Cosmos Club. Details here http://ow.ly/nc561

--”Nuclear Deterrence, Prompt Strike and Triad Perspectives,” Breakfast seminar with Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, Commander, Global Strike Command. July 31 from 8:00-9:00 AM @ the Capitol Hill Club. http://bit.ly/19dqS69

--"2013 PONI Summer Conference." July 31-August 1. Sandia National Laboratories. Details here. http://ow.ly/ncmCN